Saturday, February 9, 2013

Proquiritations

Meaning: the Dictionary of Scots Language has "to cry out in public, publish, proclaim", but for reasons outlined below, I think Sir Thomas meant "to publicly protest on behalf of another".

Usefulness: 1 (Can be used seriously: "The proquiritations of the Occupy movement seem to have made little difference". Or not: "It's always good to see Australia beat England, particularly when English proquiritations regarding umpiring provide an excuse to call them whingers.")

Logofascination: 1 (Quiritations are cries for help, complaints or protests, and I think Sir Thomas has added the 'pro' to emphasise that these protests are on behalf of someone else. The Proquiritations are supposedly written by 32 other people arguing that Sir Thomas should be excused from paying his debts, of which there were, apparently, many.)

In the wild: Not unless you count the aforementioned Dictionary of Scots Language.

Degrees: 0

Connections: n/a

Used in: This is the title of the closing section of Logopandecteision, although the index to the Works lists it as a separate book. As above, Sir Thomas attempts to convince us that 32 important people signed up to this - how serious he was about this claim is debatable.
Seeing the scope and chief end of this foregoing Tractate is to perswade the State out of their wisdom to condescend to the just demands of the Author, there can no number like that of two and thirty, which by the Rabbies of old was ascribed to Wisdom, and by Pythagoras to Justice, be pitched upon so apposite for comprehending and terminating the sum of these subsequent Proquiritations, according to the tenour of this algebraical hexastick:
Of Postulatas a sursolid whose
Content doth twice that square of squares inclose
Which is the double of the cube of two
Is here displayed for th Author's sake to shew
How that square dealing will him best become
Whereby he gets his own in solidum
Maths and poetry and puns on square dealing: what's not to love? A sursolid is the fifth power, and the two to the power of five is, of course, 32.

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